Goran Dragic of the Miami Heat is living up to his moniker. The man they call “The Dragon” has been on fire in Slovenia’s first two games in the Fiba Eurobasket 2017, scoring a total of 54 points, 8 assists, and 5 steals against Poland and Finland. Dragic’s performance bodes well for the Miami Heat as the Dragon is seemingly in midseason form already.

Against Poland, Dragic led Slovenia by scoring 30 points, dishing out 4 assists, and recording 2 steals for their first win in the FIBA EuroBasket 2017. Poland, already missing the services of Marcin Gortat of the Washington Wizards, managed to keep the game close and trailed by just 7 points at half-time.

Dragic and company turned it up in the third period to outscore Poland 21-12 to break the game wide open and eventually cruised to a 90-81 victory.

It was a team effort

Dragic got a lot of help from teammates Anthony Randolph and Luka Doncic. Randolph, an ex-NBA player, scored 7 points, grabbed 10 boards, and handed out 4 assists while Doncic, an 18-year-old top NBA draft prospect, contributed 11 points and a dished out a team-high 6 assists.

Slovenia outlasts Finland, stays perfect in EuroBasket 2017

Slovenia narrowly defeated Finland 81-78 in their second game. The 31-year-old Dragic again starred for Slovenia, scoring 29 points and handing out 5 assists. The Dragon also had 2 steals and four rebounds in 31 minutes of action.

Finland was led by the Chicago Bulls rookie Lauri Markkanen. Markkanen has been equally impressive in this year’s FIBA EuroBasket, scoring 24 points on 9 of 13 shooting (3/5 from the three point area) and grabbing 7 rebounds against Slovenia.

Finland was trailing by 10 points at half-time, 52-42 but a big third quarter allowed the Finns to outscore the Slovenians to tie the game entering the fourth quarter.

Anthony Randolph, Luka Doncic, and Dragic carried Slovenia in the fourth quarter, eventually closing out the Finland national team, 81-78.

Randolph scored 10 points and grabbed 6 rebounds while Doncic added 8 points and a team-high 8 rebounds for Slovenia. Markannen got little help from his teammates with only Sasu Salin reaching double figures with 11 points.

Dragic currently leads all scorers in the FIBA EuroBasket 2017, averaging 29.5 points per game. While the Miami Heat fans already know that The Dragon can score buckets, the fact that he’s sinking 51.3 percent of his shots while being the focus of defensive schemes by opposing teams makes this feat more impressive.

Slovenia is joined by Greece, Poland, France, Finland, and Iceland in group A. Slovenia will next face powerhouse Greece on September 3, Iceland on September 5, and France on September 6. Greece demolished Iceland in their first game before being tripped by France in their second game.

The top 4 teams in Group A will advance to the knockout stage of the FIBA EuroBasket 2017. The top 6 teams in the tournament will advance to the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, which will be held in China.
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